In case you didn't see it, J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets (15-10) had an amazing dunk last night over Gary Neal of the San Antonio Spurs (22-3) last night in the Spurs' 113-112 victory. I honestly did not know Smith had that in him. What a dunk, well worth viewing. With the win, the Spurs now have the best record in the NBA. The Nuggets are just kind of there, sometimes they play well and beat teams like the Lakers (19-7) and nearly beat the Spurs, but my feeling is that they are being held hostage by the Carmelo Anthony situation. Anthony wants a trade but is stuck in Denver right now. I think it's really hard to develop any kind of lasting team chemistry with something like that over a team. The Nuggets can be decent to good, but they won't go beyond that until this situation is resolved.
I'm pretty amazed at how well the Spurs have been playing this year, considering they were in the bottom half of the Western Conference all of last season and were easily dispatched by the Suns in the second round of the playoffs. It looked like the Spurs were aging too much and would have to infuse some new blood to return to their former heights. However, Manu Ginobli is having a great season, scoring 20 points a game. However, from what I hear, the big story is that Richard Jefferson is now more acclimated with the Spurs' system. He's averaging 14.1 points per game. Tony Parker is at 17.2 points per game. Jefferson coming on gives the Spurs another threat and I think that's what to point to more than just about anything for the San Antonio resurgence.
The Spurs have won 7 in a row, but that pales in comparison to the 10 in a row won by the Miami Heat (19-8) and the 12 in a row won by the Boston Celtics (21-4). I personally think the Celtics are the team to beat in the NBA right now, although they miss slip a little bit without Rajon Rondo the next couple of weeks. I think Doc Rivers is a great coach with some great players in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, plus of course Rondo. Shaquille O'Neal is still an asset when he's playing. The big thing about the Celtics is they play defense better than just about anybody, as well as on a much more consistent basis, and that really sets them apart.
The Heat look like they are really starting to gel and put it together following some early season struggles. I think they will definitely be a tough out come playoff time. I'm looking forward to their Christmas Day matchup with the Lakers. A win there could be a signature one for their team and give their momentum some more steam. The Heat are playing at the Knicks (16-10) tonight at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN and espn3.com. The Knicks had a long winning streak of their own snapped against the Celtics earlier this week and are really surprising people, including me. Amar'e Stoudemire is playing some great basketball and carrying the Knicks to some success. I think they will be tough to beat in Madison Square Garden, but I think they are missing a piece if they want to be a championship contender.
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